Small measured amounts of food condiments and toppings, such as ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard, are often distributed nowadays in small sized relatively flat flexible containers or packages formed of plastic coated or foil laminated foil films, whereby the user tears open the package and squeezes the package to dispense the condiment onto a sandwich or other food product. After use, the opened package is conveniently discarded in a waste basket, together with any remnant of the packaged ingredient. Another widely known product available in such flat packs is the familiar "Handi-Wipe" towellete. That flexible foil package contains a folded paper towel that is moistened with a hand cleaning fluid. The user tears open the foil, removes and unfolds the towelete, and towels the hands to clean them up after the meal. Many other examples of such miniaturized packages undoubtedly come to mind. The micro-sized packages offer convenience in storage, breakage, better sanitation and lower spillage and waste.
One specific example of the foregoing brought to applicant's attention is found in the patent literature. U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,137 granted May 1, 1990 to Heijenga entitled Dispensing Container for a Liquid or Paste-Like Substance, which describes one such container and references many earlier patents describing different constructions. Heijenga's container is a relatively flat pack whose side walls include a pre-formed flexible blister defining the storage region for the dispensable ingredient and a pre-form outlet tube, all presented in a relatively flat package with a tear off strip for the user to open the outlet tube. Compressing the blisters thereafter with one's fingers expresses the ingredient from the outlet tube.
The basic element to the foregoing micro-sized packages comprises a pair of flexible foil sheets that are superimposed over one another and thermally sealed together about the edges to define a liquid tight internal cavity. Such micro-size flat packages and the details of their construction and manufacture are well known to those skilled in the packaging art.
A common theme recognized to the foregoing packages is that they are intended to dispense the confined ingredients, not spread them out over a surface once dispensed. Reader's who've had their fingers wetted with mustard as they've sought to spread mustard dispensed from such a package upon a sandwich, inappropriately using the spent package to spread the mustard instead of reaching for a knife, should well recognize the untidy consequence.
However, as is found in other fields of endeavor that use much larger sized containers, integrating the functions of a container and an applicator into a single unit, a dispensing applicator, is beneficial. The combination offers the convenience of both a container for storing a spreadable ingredient, such as wallpaper adhesive, and a hand-held applicator, with which the dispensed adhesive may be applied to a surface, integrated within a single unit. The wall paper adhesive may be thus placed on display in the store for sale, and the purchaser may apply the adhesive with the built-in applicator, avoiding hand contamination. Dispensing applicators of the foregoing type are of a large size, typically holding six ounces or more of ingredients.
Applicant's prior invention marketed by Roman Adhesives, Inc. as the Border-Ease application, shown in U.S. Pat. No. D-351,338, granted Oct. 11, 1994, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,851, granted Nov. 20, 1996, is one example. That container applicator combination employs a sponge type roller applicator mounted to the end of a cylindrical container. Once the cover is opened to allow adhesive to exit the container, the applicator is reinstalled on the end of the container over that opening. By gripping the container in one's hand and squeezing its sides, the adhesive is expressed from the container's outlet into the sponge applicator. The hand held container portion now serves as the applicator handle and allows the user to roll the sponge applicator over a surface, spreading the adhesive thereover. The user is able to apply adhesive to small areas, without ever needing to touch the adhesive or being required to clean any brushes.
Another example is applicant's prior spackling compound dispenser applicator marketed by Painter's Products Inc as "Painter's Nail Hole Filler", shown in U.S. Pat. No. D-363,377 granted Oct. 24, 1995. In this an absorbent sponge pad is installed at the end of a cylindrical plastic tube containing spackling compound. With the pad removed, the spackling compound is expressed onto the wall. The pad is reinstalled onto the tube, which now serves as a handle for the pad, and the pad is used to smooth the applied spackling. Further examples of such combination are found in applicant's patents U.S. Pat. Nos. D-386,354, D-387,563 and D-398,235.
As made known to applicant, the foregoing disability in or functional limitation to micro-sized packaging was earlier impliedly observed by another also concerned with spreadable ingredients dispensed from such a package, particularly butter, which is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,506 granted Mar. 10, 1987 to Campbell, entitled Package with Spreader for Spreadable Material. The Campbell patent describes a package that is constructed with walls of different physical characteristic, one of which is flexible and the other of which is stiff, and serves as a spreader. By squeezing, the user expresses the butter onto the spreader and the user then spreads the butter about a slice of bread, as example, using that spreader.
Although interesting, it is evident that the Campbell structure in its essentials is more expensive than packaging used for like spreadable food ingredients. Due to the stiffness of the spreader portion, the spreader would appear to be limited in application; less useful with spreadable ingredients other than butter on surfaces that are not flat, but undulate, or on surfaces that could possibly be scratched by the stiff edge of the spreader. Further the Campbell structure only contains a single spreading surface Since the spreader extends in essentially the same axial direction as the package, it appears suitable for spreading ingredient upon a small surface that can be lifted in one hand, such as the slice of bread, while the other hand is used to move the spreader. It doesn't appear suitable in different application, for example, to spread paint over a wall, which is large in area and cannot be lifted up in one's hand. While seemingly spreading paint with this spreader on one portion of the wall, albeit poorly, the users hand palm would likely rub against another portion of the wall. For whatever reason, the Campbell structure is not found in any grocery store frequented by applicant and may thus not have achieved success in the marketplace.
As one advantage the present invention combines the functions of both container and spreader within a small sized flexible package in variety of embodiments that do not encounter one or more of the foregoing difficulties and can be adapted to a wide variety of different applications.
Accordingly, an object of my invention is to provide a new micro-sized package, capable of carrying a unit dose of ingredient, that contains a built-in applicator.
Another object of my invention is to provide a unitary package applicator combination that is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to use.
A further object of my invention is to provide a basic container applicator combination that can be used for a wide variety of spreadable products of varying viscosity intended for application to a variety of surfaces, flat, uneven and undulating in a variety of environments.
Still another object of my invention is to provide a container applicator combination that is able to spread the confined ingredients on fragile surfaces without scratching or marring such surfaces.
And a still additional object is to provide a small sized package and integral applicator combination that may be carried in ones pocket.